LSU first baseman Eddy Furniss culminated a sterling four-year career by receiving the 1998 Dick Howser Trophy as college baseball’s most outstanding player. Furniss finished his career as the SEC’s all-time leader in hits (349), home runs (80), RBI (309), doubles, (87) and total bases (689). In NCAA annals, Furniss finished his career No. 3 all-time in total bases, No. 4 in home runs and doubles, and No. 5 in RBI. The Nacogdoches, Texas, native -- who posted a .371 lifetime batting average -- hit .403 in 1998 with 27 doubles, three triples, 28 homers, 85 runs and 76 RBI, earning first-team all-America and all-SEC honors. He was also voted a second-team Academic all-American with a 3.5 gpa in zoology.

Furniss, a 1996 consensus first-team all-American, was voted the '96 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year after batting .374 (89-for-238) with a school-record 26 homers and an SEC-record 103 RBI. Furniss, whose home run and RBI totals were the best in the nation, also was named a second-team Academic all-American with a 3.7 gpa in zoology.

Furniss was the Pittsburgh Pirates’ fourth-round draft pick in 1998, and he played four seasons of minor league baseball prior to entering medical school. He is in his fourth year as a student physician at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston.